Gasland was an emotional and informative documentary about the issues surrounding Natural Gas in the US. The documentary should be viewed in the mode of Activist Documentary. Josh Fox, the director is also in the film as a "character" as he travels across the country to gather stories from people who have already been exposed to the dangerous repercussions of this industry.
This was the first documentary film that Josh Fox ever made. The film feels like it borders on the edges of experimental, essay and traditional doc practices. It is experimental and essay in the way of specific scenes (especially when he is in the forest near his home). It's also essay-like because while Josh is seeking out the information from other people, this is really his journey as well.
It felt like the film was going to be one person taking on this big project at first, but early on, I noticed a second camera. This is because we saw Josh change from a small consumer camera to something that looked like a more professional rig. Josh was also in the scenes, so obviously, he had help. This came from a second cinematographer, Matt Sanchez (who also edited the film).
At first, it reminded me of the aesthetic of Tarnation a bit. It had some experimental tinges to it, however as it moved into the bulk of the story, it changed into a traditional documentary. The movie seemed scattered in the sense that it didn't really know what it wanted to be. A Hybrid? The fancy graphics threw me off because it didn't seem like something that would be in this documentary. However, I think that the graphics did allow the audience (who may not know what fracking is) a deeper understanding of why this film and this topic is so important.
We didn't get to finish the film in class, but I do want to go back and check out the last half hour. How much more of the story can there be? I thought the committee meeting would be a great ending.
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